Search

Jodi and I met about thirty years ago when I was in the tavern that her family owned. It was a lovely little place with great music, a friendly staff, and good food. One of my personal favorites was something called the “bar pie.” It was just a pizza but it was small enough to serve at the bar or at a table for two. My friends and I loved that place.

What was it about this tavern that made it so special? The best answer that I can come up with is that my friends and I felt at home there. We could drink wine, eat pizza, and feed the juke box and talk all night long. It was really a great place.

After Jodi and I became friends I actually worked at the tavern for a short time. It was an act of generosity on the part of her Dad because I needed experience for school but I learned then that I was definitely not cut out to be a line cook.

It’s amazing to me that Jodi and I have remained friends all these years because we haven’t lived in the same city since that time. We wrote countless letters in the days before Al Gore created the internet and since that time we have sent a lot of emails. And every time I go home for a visit, I try to surprise Jodi at her restaurant – and she always makes me feel so welcome.

Today is Jodi’s birthday and I am sorry to say that I did not send her a pie. Instead I thought that I would send her a virtual pie, and that pie would have to be like Jodi – very sweet. That is why this morning I decided to bake a pecan pie in Jodi’s honor because she is one of the sweetest people that I have ever met and I am so glad that we are friends. I hope that she will be happy to know that “her” Pecan Pie was given to someone who deserved a bit of sweetness in her day.